The doors to the dormitories at Hop Hsieh University are quite comical, especially the new ones. Although they all look like the legendary high-security doors with eighteen locks, they only resemble them in appearance. The doors are indeed made of iron, but instead of the built-in locks of a security door, they have a large iron padlock on the outside, and still require a bolt to secure them from the inside.
The school explained that this type of door is safe and convenient, and unlike automatic locks, it won't accidentally lock the door, trapping people outside.
So once the door was locked from the inside, there was no need to worry about anyone suddenly breaking in. Chen Xu immediately seized the opportunity to study the high-tech computer in front of him, which came from eighty years in the future.
But Chen Xu soon discovered, to his dismay, that he didn't know how to use it!
There was no computer, no drive letter, no network neighborhood, and so on. All that remained was a virtual palace-dressed beauty on the desktop, smiling sweetly at him... making Chen Xu blush.
The main problem was the lack of a mouse. After searching around, he couldn't even find a USB port. He pressed on the keyboard mirror and found there was no mouse or touchpad either. Frustrated, Chen Xu scratched his head, "Do people born 80 years ago no longer use mice? How come there's not even a touchpad?"
"The touchpad is on the LCD screen. You can use your finger to tap the LCD screen to operate it." Suddenly, a very pleasant female voice came from the computer. "You can also choose voice control. In addition, according to your special needs, we have specially installed a USB 2.0 interface on the computer. You can call it out with voice commands and connect an external mouse."
"You...you're talking to me?"
The stunning 3D palace-dress beauty on the screen gave a slight bow: "I am your personal assistant, Xiaomin. I will help you familiarize yourself with the Magic Box Generation portable computer."
"No, no, no," Chen Xu felt a little frightened and quickly said, "I mean, can you understand me? You are... could you be the legendary intelligent system?"
"I'm sorry, the answer to your question is not in our database. I am a new product from the Ink Cartridge Company, the first-generation full-featured computer assistant. My database contains a vast amount of data and response information, and my level of anthropomorphism is second to none among similar products. If you have any questions, I can basically answer them for you."
The mechanical language disappointed Chen Xu somewhat. It wasn't the legendary intelligent system after all; it was just a program, albeit a rather advanced one. Actually, programs like this existed in this era, such as Tencent QQ's robot, Q-Sister (QQ number 6150500000), and similar products from abroad. However, these products all relied on text-based chat; currently, there was no robot system in the world capable of voice recognition.
It should have been noticed long ago. Although the virtual beauty's voice was soft and sweet, her tone had a mechanical quality. Chen Xu couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It seems that technology 80 years from now is nothing special. Virtual characters all speak in a stiff tone."
"Excuse me, but I need to correct something you said," the virtual beauty Xiaomin said. "The reason our company's personal assistant ranks first among similar products is because we have almost perfectly simulated human emotions. In addition to serving as a personal assistant for the next generation of computers, this product is also the first choice for telephone hotlines, emotional counseling, and other services. However, because our anthropomorphism is too high, some users have become addicted to the emotions of the virtual characters. Therefore, our company has removed the emotional program from this product except for certain special business applications."
Well, that's not entirely untrue. Chen Xu had a friend in high school who was even more obsessed with games than him. He even studied Japanese for a while just to play the Final Fantasy series, which Chen Xu often looked down on him for.
After playing Final Fantasy VIII, the one with the theme song "EYESONME" sung by Faye Wong, this guy declared that he had fallen deeply in love with the game's female protagonist, Rinoa, and that he would definitely find a beautiful woman like Rinoa in his life.
But after playing Final Fantasy X, this guy shamelessly claimed that he fell in love with the heroine Yuna. And now that Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core is going to be released next year, given Square's strength and technical level, the characters in the previous Final Fantasy games have been getting prettier and prettier. Who knows, maybe this guy will fall in love with a new heroine again.
(A year later, after Crisis Core was released in September 2007, Chen Xu's guess was indeed verified. That beast was indeed promoting that he had fallen in love with Tifa, one of the female protagonists in the new work, a virtual girl with classical Eastern charm.)
However, this is understandable. With the advancement of technology and the increasing maturity of 3D technology, virtual characters are becoming more and more realistic. This makes virtual beauties almost perfect, leading many disillusioned individuals to place their hopes on these virtual characters. Things are better in China, but I've heard that in Japan, where the anime and gaming industry is highly developed, some immature kids have even petitioned the government to legislate for legal marriage between real people and virtual characters…
Fortunately, that's the case. Although Xiaomin's name is a bit ordinary, her virtual image is almost impeccable. You have to know that 3D technology 80 years later has reached an unimaginable level. Xiaomin's appearance and figure are simply the best of the best... If she weren't so beautiful that she was almost unreal, you wouldn't be able to tell that she is an electronic product.
Imagine a girl who is so perfect and flawless, who is also a soulmate in relationships, and has a wonderful personality. I'm afraid a lot of men would be too lazy to even look for a girlfriend for her sake!
According to Xiaomin's introduction, Chen Xu finally gained a basic understanding of this computer from the future.
First of all, this is a biological computer, which is a computer made by using bionics principles to replicate electronic components similar to the helical protein factor in the human body.
The birth of the biological computer is a landmark invention in the computer industry.
First, biological computers are extremely small, capable of housing hundreds of millions of circuits in an area of just one square millimeter... This is also the main reason why this laptop is so lightweight.
Biochemical components, similar to human cells, possess self-repair and shape-changing capabilities, requiring extremely little energy! Coupled with ultra-high-energy solar batteries designed for 2080, they can be charged using both solar and electrical energy. Essentially, a fully charged battery can be fully recharged overnight from a depleted state, and a fully charged battery can provide continuous use for a month, even in darkness!
This is simply a miracle!
The operating speed of biochips far exceeds that of commonly used integrated chips today; the difference between the two is like heaven and earth! If a comparison must be made, the difference between a mainstream computer and this biocomputer is like the difference between an oxcart and a space shuttle!
In 1943, the then-president of IBM said, "I believe five computers will be enough to meet the needs of the world." Little did he know that sixty-three years later, computers would have entered millions of homes in a way that was accessible to everyone. And people of that era simply couldn't imagine what level of computing power computers would possess eighty years from now.
Biocomputers don't generate heat, are easy to carry, and have a self-repair function similar to the human body. The most powerful feature of this function is that... the computer won't need a warranty!
It's conceivable that eighty years from now, there will definitely be viruses and various other vulnerabilities targeting this new operating system... After all, the more complex a computer is, the more vulnerabilities it will have. But in this era, it's absolutely impossible for a virus capable of destroying this computer to exist.
With Xiaomin's help, Chen Xu quickly gained a general understanding of how to operate the computer.
Although the operating system of the biological computer is no longer Microsoft's Windows, it retains most of the advantages of the Windows operating system... It's worth noting that back then, Bill Gates rushed to market Windows before it was even mature, aiming to cultivate users' operating habits. These habits have persisted, so Chen Xu can barely manage to operate this new-era computer.
With the help of the virtual female assistant on the desktop, Chen Xu quickly got the hang of it.
The more I use it, the more I realize how powerful this computer is!
This is practically a world-destroying artifact!
Chen Xu first browsed through the hard drive... The storage method of the new computer is completely different from that of the current computer. To give an analogy, this computer is like a person, and the various electronic components inside are like the cells that make up the human body.
Unlike the bulky hard drives of today, the new storage medium is highly distributed, with each cell capable of storing 10GB of information. By integrating and splitting files into cells, the limitations of current drive letters are eliminated. Furthermore, in the event of hard drive data corruption, only certain cell components are damaged, thus limiting data loss to a very small extent. Additionally, in the event of a virus invasion, the virus can be confined to a single cell, preventing its spread.
Chen Xu counted on his fingers for a long time and roughly understood that, according to current counting standards, this computer's hard drive space was probably over 2 to the power of 100 TB...
1TB = 1024GB
2 to the power of 100 is 1024 multiplied by 1024, and then multiplied by 1024 again...
Chen Xu felt that calculating specific values was no longer meaningful.
Yesterday, on the Hexie University BBS, he saw some senior bragging about his 1TB hard drive filled with amazing movies, enough to keep someone watching from birth until they die of natural causes. Now, Chen Xu felt that if his computer were full of movies, he could watch them for hundreds of lifetimes!
So what's inside my 2 to the power of 100 TB hard drive?
This brings us to the benefits of the new operating system, and also thanks to Xiaomin.
Some people with large hard drives who like to install all sorts of random things on their computers might know that just opening the Start menu in the lower left corner and then pulling up all the programs can fill up a 22-inch widescreen monitor.
Finding where to install the software you need, especially software you don't use often, is a very tiring task!
Computers are already this complicated these days, let alone this new computer with its huge hard drive.
According to the numbers Xiaomin reported, there are no fewer than eight thousand different kinds of software on this computer... If you were to go through them one by one, you would be exhausted and still not finish!
But with Xiaomin's help, things are different. You just need to tell her what kind of work needs to be done, and Xiaomin will bring up several similar software programs, which you can then select from.
However, Chen Xu doesn't know what he needs to do right now. It's like a penniless guy who suddenly wins 50 million in the lottery and doesn't know how to spend it. But when he thinks about the lottery, he shamelessly asks if there are any lottery winning numbers from the past few decades, or stock market information, etc.
Xiaomin's answer initially filled him with elation, because Xiaomin confirmed it was possible. However, Xiaomin quickly added another sentence that instantly transported Chen Xu's heart from the sunny Shangri-La to the icy Siberian wilderness... Xiaomin said, "But the cell drive letter containing this file is damaged, and the data cannot be read. It needs to be automatically repaired before it can be accessed."
555, this is so tragic! It's like a beautiful woman is willing to have sex with you, and after you've taken your clothes off and gone to bed, you find out that she's wearing metal pants... and the kind without a key!
Damn iron crotch!
So, Chen Xu, heartbroken and despondent, asked in a very sorrowful tone what else was on the computer. Xiao Min replied that the computer currently had the complete data storage for the National Population Census System, some video editing software, 3D animation modeling software, a medical information database, and some games... These things took up a full 200TB of hard drive space, with the National Population Census System alone taking up nearly 100TB!
Chen Xu felt he would definitely slap his grandson a few times in the future. Why did he put such a useless thing into the computer? If that damned census system were replaced with a detailed analysis of the global economy and stock market over the next 80 years, how wonderful that would be! He would drop out of school right now, buy stocks, and become rich and live a comfortable life!
However, when the topic of the census system came up, Chen Xu suddenly had another idea, so he asked Xiao Min if the computer could scan fingerprints.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Chen Xu turned his gaze to the table, to Old Dong's ID card and bank card.
These two items were left behind by the thief after stealing Old Dong's wallet, adhering to the principle of "honor among thieves." If nothing unexpected happens, this thief wouldn't be like those master thieves on TV, pretending to wear gloves to prevent fingerprints. Because this era is not like the 1980s. Although fingerprint comparison has become a method of solving many cases, even a powerful country like the United States hasn't entered the fingerprint data of all its citizens into computers. Therefore, fingerprints can only be used for comparison now, not for criminal investigation.
But Chen Xu thought differently. He reasoned that the thief must have left many fingerprints in the room, but it was impossible to scan the entire room one by one. There were people walking around everywhere in the student dormitory, so the fingerprints would be a complete mess. Who knows, they might scan out a creepy guy who looked like a thief, but that guy was the previous student in this dormitory.
But there are two very good sources of material here.
Generally speaking, not many people handle ID cards and bank cards, so the fingerprints on the cards shouldn't be too messy. If nothing unexpected happens, we might be able to find the thief's identity.
Acting on his thoughts is Chen Xu's consistent style. He asked Xiao Min how to collect fingerprints, and then he saw a probe that looked like an electronic pen sneaking out from the side of the computer.
The probe sticking out startled Chen Xu, because he hadn't seen the connection hole in that location before!
Holding the electronic pen, Chen Xu scribbled a few lines on Lao Dong's ID card, and then saw several pictures and introductions displayed on the computer screen. Lao Dong's was ranked first, but strangely, the person in the picture was much more handsome and energetic than Lao Dong. However, he also looked older than Lao Dong and had the demeanor of a successful person, unlike Lao Dong, who looked like a complete country bumpkin.
What's even stranger is that the name written on it is not "Dong Qingjie" but "Dong Qingjie".
Why did Lao Dong change his name?
Chen Xu didn't take it to heart, because he knew some friends who changed their names for various reasons, which wasn't unacceptable. However, looking at the person in the photo, Chen Xu felt that Lao Dong would definitely do well in the future, so it seemed he needed to build a good relationship with him now.
Besides Lao Dong, there were a few other people, but Chen Xu quickly focused his attention on a photo of a guy who looked rather sleazy.
This guy's name is Xia Jiliu, which is just one character more than "Xia Liu" (meaning "vulgar" or "indecent"). Of course, the name wasn't Chen Xu's main concern. The most important thing was that he'd seen this guy before; he'd come to the dorm to sell pens the night before school started!
Chen Xu began to recall the situation when that guy came to the dormitory, but just as he was getting into playing Sherlock Holmes, there was a sudden, frantic banging on the door. Then, the second brother's lewd voice called out from outside the door: "Damn it, third brother, why are you closing the door in broad daylight? Are you masturbating in the room?!"
Chapter 4: Notebook Turns into a Watch
Have they come back from dinner?
Chen Xu quickly threw the computer under the covers and covered it up tightly. At this moment, he even had the mind to mutter, "It's light, but it's a bit big. I wish it could be turned into a watch."
After he finished muttering to himself, he didn't have time to look any further and hurriedly went to check the door.
The door opened, and the three men outside looked at him with ambiguous eyes. The second brother, Qin Xiao'an, smiled ambiguously and said, "Third brother, you didn't turn your grief into lust, did you? Did you come here to masturbate behind closed doors?"
Chen Xu said, "Damn it, I was just taking a nap and I was worried that another thief might break in, so I locked the door." Chen Xu thought his excuse was flawless, but it was obvious that the three lewd guys didn't think so. They all said, "It's okay, it's okay, we're all men, we understand."
Chen Xu was speechless. Just then, the eldest brother walked in and saw the newspaper he had bought that morning on the table. He suddenly said, "Third brother, are you masturbating or reading the report on the Chinese men's football team?" It turned out to be a sports newspaper that had just reported on the Chinese men's football team's loss in the game.
Chen Xu turned his head and glanced at it, then said fiercely, "Damn it, I was masturbating!"
The group burst into laughter, but they no longer doubted Chen Xu's claim of masturbation. Chen Xu checked his watch and realized that forty minutes had passed without him noticing, and these guys were empty-handed. He said, annoyed, "Where's the food you bought for me? Forty minutes left, you didn't go off to some cheap restaurant near the entrance, did you?"
"No, no!" The group shook their heads hastily, but their faces were full of excitement, as if they had long forgotten that they had just lost something. Qin Xiaoan called out lewdly, "Third brother! You really lost out by going to dinner with us!"
"Holy crap, is it really that exaggerated?" Chen Xu asked. "Did the cafeteria suddenly become so generous that they gave away all the remaining food for free?"
"No, no!" Qin Xiaoan gave Chen Xu a disdainful gesture, then said, "We just saw a beautiful girl! She's from our department, another stunning beauty, no less beautiful than Guan Yi and Zhan Jing!"
Chen Xu naturally knew Guan Yi and Zhan Jing, whom Xiao An had mentioned. This morning was the first day of class, and all that happened was for the entire class to go up on stage and introduce themselves.
To quote a senior who came here a couple of days ago to sell things and drop by, the Department of Information Science is generally like Jurassic Park, especially the previous year. Now, as sophomores, there is a small class of thirty students with only five females, known as the Five Golden Flowers... except that the flowers are like flowers.
But the senior also said that the Information Science department either doesn't produce beautiful women, or when it does, they're the kind that bring disaster to the country.
Chen Xu and his friends were lucky. During the self-introductions at the department today, they met two stunningly beautiful girls, one named Guan Yi and the other Zhan Jing. Chen Xu was surprised to discover that the girl named Zhan Jing was the same pretty girl who had been sitting quietly in front of her Apple computer when he was browsing the library the day before yesterday.
A delicate girl with shoulder-length, slightly wavy hair, the color of which is a few strands of dark blue with highlights.
Sure enough, on his way back from get out of class, the eldest was still regretting that he had left his phone charging in the dorm and missed the chance to text the girl right away.
But how come there's suddenly a girl who looks just as good as those two fairies? I've never seen her before.
"So you didn't know, did you?" Qin Xiaoan said excitedly. "We saw her just now on our way back, when we passed by the Information Science Department office building. That girl had just arrived at school with lots of bags. Because her flight was delayed, she was half a day late and didn't go to class at all this morning. Look, we even got her phone number!"
Chen Xu exclaimed, "Damn it! This Qin Xiao'an is truly the beast of the dorm. How did he get someone's phone number so quickly?" The two shrewish girls from this morning also knew they couldn't hide their phone numbers, so they openly wrote them on the blackboard.
The eldest brother, Wu Yuan, pulled his laptop out of the cabinet and laughed, "That beast saw it was a girl and immediately rushed over to help her with her luggage. Luckily, our counselor, Chen, was there too, so she asked a few of us to help carry her luggage to her dorm. Then, that shameless beast went and asked for her phone number, which is why it took so long. And oh, that girl lives in Building 7, Room 303, damn, she's in the same dorm as Zhan Jing!"
Chen Xu rolled his eyes and said, "Damn it, you guys went to her dorm?"
"Yeah, yeah! Because that girl's luggage was really heavy, so we helped carry it in." The group got excited talking about this, chattering away, saying that the girls' dormitory was truly a girls' dormitory, unlike theirs, which had turned into a pigsty after only two days of school. They said that as soon as you went in, you could smell an alluring woman's fragrance, and the leader even confidently declared that it was definitely the scent of a virgin, which earned him a good scornful look from the others.
Have you seen any pretty girls wearing sexy pajamas?
"No, not at all." The men shook their heads regretfully. Qin Xiaoan shamelessly said that he heard water running in the bathroom, probably because a girl was taking a shower, but he didn't see her.
"Holy crap!" Three middle fingers were raised at the same time.